Lihana Barbeque

After my CFO seminar, Danny and I walked from Pillows hotel in Roa street to almost near Ayala Center passing by Escario street. We decided not to take any public transportation because there was a heavy traffic and we needed some exercise. On the way, we found a small Korean restaurant named 바다 (Bada) that serves bento (set meals) and unlimited grilling. Since there were no customers in sight, we assumed it’s not a good food spot. But we might give it a chance the next time we visit Cebu. Walking further, we reached our destination – 리하나 바베큐 Lihana Barbeque.

A male staff was standing at the door, opened it and greeted us, but the rest of the staff seemed not to care. Looking around, we didn’t spot any Korean instead, there were Japanese, Filipinos and Caucasians.

A portable grilling plate, utensils dunked on a plastic cup with water, salt, pepper and 2 kinds of sauces can be found on each table. The chopsticks are long, black, plastic, square-shaped which is uncommon to any Korean restaurant.

We opted for 2 orders of limited pork belly. It came with 3 side dishes and a small bowl of 된장찌개 (doenjang jjigae / bean paste soup) for each.

I was disappointed to see our food when it arrived, they grilled the 삼겹살 (samgyeopsal / pork belly) in the kitchen and placed them on a sizzling plate. I could see the meat bathing on its own oil. The basket of lettuce was served without completely draining the water that made a mess on our table. The female staff who handed them, was almost throwing the dishes on our faces. To be honest, I was skeptical to use the utensils, since they were soaked in water for who knows how long, so I drank the soup straight from the bowl which I was also hesitant to do so.

삼겹살 (samgyeopsal / pork belly) — Php200

We haven’t found any good Korean restaurant in uptown Cebu. If you could recommend one, please share it in the comment below. Thanks for reading!

Note: This is based on our honest opinion and personal experience only.